Spinetto 1 Joseph Spinetto English 1130 Megan Keaton 4/9/13 A Comparison of The United States and Finland Education

n Systems In recent years, Finland has achieved tremendous success in the assessment of its education system. They are a small country but take education more seriously than most other countries. In the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Finland bested all other countries in reading and led the standings in science in 2006 (Huffington Post). The 2009 results came as the U.S. government sought to shock the American schooling system out of average performance. In states such as Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona and California, fewer than 25% of students are scoring below proficiency. In reading, most states scored between 20% and 35% at the students respective levels. Washington had a staggering percentage of just 12% (Guggenheim). So why is the Finnish way so successful, and how can the United States follow suit? Many studies have been conducted on Finlands approach to education and why it is so successful. In this paper, I will examine the differences in teachers, government interaction and funding for each of the two systems. Pasi Sahlberg is an education official in Finland and is also the author of the article Lessons from Finland. She asks the same question How did a country with an undistinguished education system surge to the head in just a couple of decades? (Sahlberg 1). The teachers are one of the main factors she points to as being the reason for this sudden aggrandizement to the top. The Finnish system does not employ external

Spinetto 2 standardized student testing to drive the performance of schools or a rigorous inspection system of schools and teachers. Instead, the Finnish system relies on the expertise and professional accountability of teachers who are knowledgeable and committed to their students and communities (Sahlberg 1). Teaching is consistently the most admired profession in opinion polls of high school graduates, but teaching is not an easy career to pursue (Sahlberg 2). Only about 5,000 of about 20,000 applicants will be accepted after given rigorous tests that assess not only knowledge, but also interpersonal skills. Once in the program, the teachers are put on the requirement tract for a masters degree in one subject and one or two minor subjects; preschool and kindergarten teachers must have a bachelors degree. This program can take five to seven and a half years to complete (Sahlberg 3). The programs are nationally coordinated to ensure coherence and success. The United States is not up to par with these standards. In a study conducted by Kelli Randolph and Dylinda Wilson-Younger, Ph. D., multiple states within the United States only require that teachers have two years of college education with no minors what so ever. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), put in place by the Bush administration in 2001, reinforced this (Randolph, Wilson Younger 5). A study done in the United States mentioned in the documentary called Waiting for Superman directed by Davis Guggenheim, states that bad teachers only cover 50% of the curriculum set by the states, whereas a good teacher can cover 150% (Davis Guggenheim). This means the students in these classrooms progress three times as fast. Another study from the National Center for Education Statistics found that high school math and science students of teachers with subject-specific training have greater achievement (Brady). Many U.S. school systems

Spinetto 3 defer to teachers with higher degrees when they hire faculty, and teachers are required to have some kind of state certification along with a bachelors degree. However, the precise certification requirements vary, depending on how teachers enter the profession and what state they teach in suggests Heather Brady in her article entitled The U.S.s low standards for Teacher Training. Schools try to hire more qualified teachers, but there is a concept enforced by the teachers unions call tenure. This means that once a teacher is hired, they cannot be fired based on the way they teach. This gives bad teachers a way to stay and not change the way they teach. This also ensures equality to the teachers by not being paid based on merit but instead by strict contract. Michelle Rhee was appointed to be chancellor of the Washington D.C. school system from 2007 until 2010. She came up with a new way of payroll for teachers. She wanted for tenure to be killed and instead for teachers to be paid based on merit. Good teachers would be paid almost two times more than bad teachers and some teachers would be making in the six-figure range. Once it was time to vote on the concept, the teacher unions stepped in and a vote was not even considered (Guggenheim). In Finland, the central government has only limited influence on how the teachers should teach. There are no standardized tests or set curriculums in Finland. Teachers are given more autonomy and responsibility for students assessment and curriculum (Sahlberg 7). The first reason for this is Finlands high priority for personalized learning and creativity. The progress of each student is judged more against his or her individual development and abilities rather than against statistical indicators. Second, education authorities insist that curriculum, teaching and learning (rather than testing) should drive teachers practice to improve both teachers and students work throughout the academic

Spinetto 4 year. Last but not least, the reason for less governmental control is the act of determining students academic performance should be seen as a responsibility of the school and teacher, not external assessors. It is felt that teachers are the best judges of how their own students are progressing in school (Sahlberg 8). These methods are supported in the study conducted by Asiye Toker Gokce and Cevat Celep, comparing the educational systems of Europe. They saw that the education goals of Finland were to teach children to carry a sense of responsibility, creativity and peaceful relations with the people and be compatible with the Finnish society (Gokce, Celep 6). This is different than any of the other schools that were used in their research because of the major focus on creativity and selffulfillment. In the United States, the central government maintains a high level of involvement in the way we educate our children. Within the last decade one of the biggest changes made has been the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In the study mentioned earlier by Kelli Randolph and Dylinda Wilson-Younger Ph.D., they did research on the NCLB Act to find the pros and cons from the beginning until today. The reason for the Act was to close the achievement gap between students by making schools more accountable. To do this, the NCLB Act requires any schools receiving any types of federal funding to administer some type of standardized test to their students every year (Randolph 1). The reason for this testing is to measure student achievement and to make sure students are meeting the core requirements established by their states. Looking back at Finland, this is the complete opposite of what they are doing.

Spinetto 5 The NCLB Act also tried to reform the budget the schools were using. To receive Title 1 funds, the schools must be showing AYP or adequate yearly progress. AYP is defined, as there must be reasonable and establish guidelines for continuous and substantial progress each year. In an effort to improve test scores to meet the AYP, many states have had to cut out their arts programs and in many cases have cut nonessential subjects such as social studies, foreign language, health, and science. The courses listed as being nonessential are the ones Finland is trying to incorporate the most at the younger ages. Today, a new initiative released by the Obama administration called Race to the Top is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Act plans to give four billion dollars to 19 states that have robust plans that address the four key areas of K-12 education (White House). These areas include development of rigorous standards and better assessments, adoption of better data systems to provide schools, teachers, and parents with information about student progress, support for teachers and school leaders to become more effective, and to increase emphasis and resources for the turn around of lower performing schools. In all of those areas, none of them support bringing funding back to the arts or the so-called nonessential courses. The act has had positive actions too though. In 2012, the program invested nearly $400 million in schools to create new models to personalize learning for students (White House). This is on track to be more similar to the Finnish way of educating and could raise our nation back to the top with more money invested. The article submitted by the White House does not tell where exactly the money goes. It says it will go to education, but that could be to the teacher

Spinetto 6 unions, the construction of new schools, or a wide variety of other forms within education. It is unlike Finland because it does not go directly to the classroom. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) made multiple books called Reviews of National Policies for Education. They made one for Finland that thoroughly evaluates each part of the education process. In the book, they describe how most of the funding allotted to the schools goes directly to the classrooms (OECD 155). Even though the funding percentage for education is relatively high, the Finnish Ministry of Education plans to double the public funding for teacher professional development by 2016. The Finnish education system is definitely not perfect. No system in the world can be labeled as perfect. Everyone has their own opinions and will continue to voice those opinions from war to education policy. Finland has developed a unique and successful system with what they have. America is continuing to try new things to keep a high standard we hold ourselves to. Americas system is also not perfect. We need to watch these rising nations and try to incorporate what has been successful for them and learn from them. America is 25th in the world in math, and 23rd in the world in science, but when our students were asked where they think they are ranked, we are number one (Guggenheim). Americans fill 50 of every 125 highly skilled jobs in America (Guggenheim). People from around the world occupy the rest because there are not enough people coming out of our education system, smart enough to fill them. We need to open our eyes and realize the competition we are up against. We need to start making the changes necessary to be the best. From the teachers all the way down to the future students,

Spinetto 7 everything matters when it comes to the future of the world. Education is the window to the future.

Works Cited Randolph, Kelli, and Dylinda Wilson-Younger. "Is No Child Left Behind Effective For All Students?" Parents Don't Think So." Online Submission (2012): ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. Sahlberg, Pasi. "Lessons From Finland: Where The Country's Education System Rose To The Top In Just A Couple Decades." Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed For Quick Review 77.3 (2011): 18-24. ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. Gokce, Asiye Toker, and Cevat Celep. "A Comparison Of Educational Systems Of Turkey, Malta, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Finland, Greece, Belgium, The Netherlands And Denmark." Online Submission (2011): ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. Finland: Higher Education. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 1995. Print. "Race to the Top." The White House. The White House, 31 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. Web. "Finland Schools' Success Story: Lessons Shared At California Forum." Huffington Post. (2012): n. page. Web. 9 Apr. 2013. Waiting for "Superman. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Geoffrey Canada, Michelle Rhee and Bill Strickland. Paramount Vantage, 2010. DVD.